Depth, veteran experience make Griz optimistic for 2017 soccer season

Head coach Mark Plakorus and the University of Montana soccer team reports for fall camp on Tuesday, Aug. 1. The Griz will hold two-a-day practices over the next two weeks, leading up to their season opener, Aug. 18 at Boise State.

Montana head soccer coach Mark Plakorus remembers the moment well. It was Sept. 8, 2014, a day following a 2-0 loss at Texas. Plakorus was watching a replay of the Longhorn Network's telecast and heard commentators Glenn Davis and Monica Gonzalez marvel about how many underclassmen the Griz had.

Twenty-two, in fact. Fifteen freshmen and seven sophomores. Out of the 30 players on roster.

Eleven of those players are still Grizzlies, with nine suiting up for their senior season this fall. The group features five returning starters, including All-Big Sky Conference selections Chanelle Pederson and Hallie Widner.

Three years after having one of the youngest teams in the country, Plakorus and his UM soccer team now get to enjoy the fruits of developing those players.

"We have a lot of returning talent," the seventh-year head coach said. "The more experienced you are, the better you are at preparing yourself for what's ahead of you."

Of course, UM has already enjoyed plenty of success. In 2014, that same season the young Griz team faced off at Texas, it went undefeated through conference play to secure a second consecutive Big Sky title.

But there have also been the last two seasons, where Plakorus will be the first to admit that his team has underperformed. He believes the past two rosters have had the talent to bring a third and fourth consecutive title to Missoula, but he couldn't get his team to maximize its potential.

"We've had some success, but I also think we've fallen short," Plakorus said. "We've been good the last couple of years, we've been a tough team to play, but I don't think we've reached our potential, and for me, that's the most frustrating part of being a coach."

But back to the 2017 squad – the one that returns 13 letterwinners and eight starters, but also welcomes 14 newcomers.

"I like this team," Plakorus said. "I like this team a lot. I think we have a good mix between experience and talent, and some of our younger players coming up are high-level players, as well. It's a really good, competitive mix all around."

First, there are the veterans. Six players return who made at least 15 starts in 2016. Many of the upperclassmen have been playing since they were freshmen, and have been through both the good and the hard. They know what the college game is like and can pass that on to the underclassmen.

"Experience gives you confidence and confidence allows you to play more calm," Plakorus said.

Then, there are the newcomers. Thirteen freshmen and a Pac-12 transfer. Despite their youth, Plakorus expects them to contend for spots right away, and for many of them to play.

"We'll have the best chance to win if our newcomers compete and challenge our upperclassmen.

"When I recruit somebody, I don't recruit them with the thought process of 'down the road.' I tell every one of them, 'You're going to have the opportunity to compete from Day 1.' What they do with that opportunity is up to them, but I expect them to be prepared."

They'll need to be, because the schedule – which Plakorus says may be the toughest he's every put together – doesn't give UM any favors.

The Griz begin the season on the road, at Boise State (Aug. 18) and Utah State (Aug. 20) of the Mountain West. They'll return home to host the Montana Cup – vs. Air Force and San José State on Aug. 25 and 27 – before embarking on the road for three of the next four weekends of non-conference play. During that stretch, UM will face Power-5 opponents Nebraska in Pullman, Wash. (Sept. 3), Iowa in Iowa City (Sept. 8), Oregon in Eugene (Sept. 15) and Washington State in Missoula (Sept. 17).

But the games against the "bigger schools" are exciting for the Griz. In 2015, they beat Iowa. In 2016, they took down Purdue on the road. They've also played Washington State and Missouri to overtime.

"Every game is a lesson, and we've learned a lot about what it takes to get to the next level," Plakorus said."

The variety of teams UM will face will force it to see different styles of play and adapt on the fly. Plakorus also noted that it will challenge his players and make them uncomfortable – in a good way. All of this, ideally, will prepare the Griz for what they'll see in the Big Sky Conference, and hopefully in the NCAA tournament down the road.

The opponents will be difficult, but Plakorus believes his team will be a challenge for other teams, as well. The mixture of experience and young talent provides plenty of depth. Then there's the fact that UM has flexibility and can play a lot of different ways, depending on the opponent and depending on what's working.

Plakorus sees a team full of piano movers – blue-collar kids who fight and battle – and artists – truly special soccer players.

He sees a talented group – one that has the chance to take Montana to the next level. But Plakorus knows – the last two years as evidence – that talent alone doesn't always translate.

"Now the big question is, 'Can we have consistency in our work ethic? Can we have consistency in our decision making? Can we handle adversity? Can we be great together? Can we encourage and drive each other to let that greatness out?'

"If we do, I think this can be one of the most talented and athletic teams that we've had," he said.

Look who's back: The Griz return 13 letterwinners from last year's squad, including six players who started three-quarters of their contests. That group includes McKenzie Warren and Widner – who tied for the team lead with four goals apiece – plus a slew of offensive talent. Overall, UM returns 95.7 percent of its goals scored, 78.3 percent of its assists and 88.4 percent of its overall points from 2016.

The biggest area of turnover comes on defense, where UM lost an all-conference defender and the conference's goalkeeper of the year.

Welcome to UM: Filling the vacancy of defenders are a half dozen prep stars: Avery Adams (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), Gabbi DeMarce (Rapid City, S.D.), Taylor Hansen (Cardiff by the Sea, Calif.), Emily Peters (Bremerton, Wash.), Caitlin Rogers (Murrieta, Calif.) and Claire Steffe (Castle Pines, Colo.) all signed in February.

Mikee Furrow (Caldwell, Idaho) and Morgan Meatovich (Las Vegas, Nev.) are incoming forwards, Ally Shelton (Ventura, Calif.) and Raye Burton (Centennial, Colo.) are midfielders, and Alexa Coyle (Bozeman, Mont.) and Rita Lang (Sherwood, Ore.) can play either forward or midfield. Kennedy Yost, a redshirt freshman transfer from the University of Colorado, is also a forward.

The group of newcomers spans from eight states: three each from California and Colorado, and one apiece from Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota and Washington.

The group features several conference and state champions, in addition to a handful of club stars. Rogers twice advanced to the final eight at the US Youth Soccer National Championships with Legends FC, while Hansen won an ECNL national championship with San Diego Surf in 2014. Adams and Steffe both played for Real Colorado, an ECNL team that finished sixth in the nation in 2014. Additionally, Coyle was a national champion skier while Lang was born in Portugal and played for her nation's U16 and U19 national teams.

Filling the void: The Griz return the majority of their talent from a year ago, but will look to fill the void of several key pieces. Gone from last year's team are starters Tess Brenneman, Mary Gintz and Kailey Norman.

Brenneman was a two-time first-team All-Big Sky conference selection, while Norman was named the 2016 Big Sky Conference Goalkeeper of the Year. Gintz started 59 games for the Griz.

"The one thing you can't stop doing is losing players," Plakorus said. "We had some players who played significant minutes and made a big impact on our team. We'll feel their loss, but there's also players who have been watching them and learning from them. I think the mark of a good program is that you're sad to see the impact players go, but the new players are ready for the opportunity and excited to be the next one up. I have no doubt that we have those girls who are ready to step into those shoes."

Bringing in reinforcement: In addition to second-year assistant coach Micaela Castain, Katie Benz joins the Griz coaching staff for 2017.

Benz's collegiate career at Cal included four trips to the NCAA tournament. Following graduation, she played professionally before getting into coaching in 2016, as volunteer director of operations at the University of Denver. Castain was a standout player at Washington State, leading the Cougars to three NCAA tournament appearances and being named the 2013 Pac-12 Player of the Year and a second-team NSCAA All-American.

"Micaela and Katie are, first of all, two great people," said Plakorus, noting their character, work ethic and drive to be successful. "You look at these two young ladies and nothing came easy for them. They had to work extremely hard and went on to be successful. They're great coaches but great role models as well."

An opportunity and responsibility: As the only Division-I women's soccer team in the state of Montana, Plakorus takes his job seriously. It's a big flag to carry, but something he enjoys doing.

"It's an unbelievable opportunity," Plakorus said. "As I began my coaching career, I always had my eye on Montana. I thought it was special what this school and these athletics teams mean to this state and this community. To be a Grizzly and run this program and be responsible for it is very special."

Home-field advantage: The Griz have won more than 70-percent of their home games over the past five seasons, going 25-10-7. In addition to four home conference games, UM will host Air Force, San José State, Washington State and Southern Utah in 2017.

"Missoula is a great soccer town," Plakorus said. "It has always supported us very well, and we always enjoy playing here in front of our fans."

The total package: Even after winning three conference championships and advancing to the 2011 NCAA tournament, Plakorus still faces an uphill battle in terms of recruiting and selling his program.

"The pull of the Power-5 conference, the prestige of it is so strong," he said. "I'll put my environment against anyone's in the country in terms of what you get out of your time here and how it prepares you for life. Part of what I love to do is the challenge of showing people that you can still have a first-class, top-of-the-line experience, even without some of the resources."

University of Montana Athletics

Depth, veteran experience make Griz optimistic for 2017 soccer season

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Players Mentioned

Avery Adams

Tess Brenneman

Raye Burton

Alexa Coyle

Gabbi DeMarce

Mikee Furrow

Mary Gintz

Taylor Hansen

Rita Lang

Morgan Meatovich

Kailey Norman

Chanelle Pederson

Emily Peters

Caitlin Rogers

Ally Shelton

Claire Steffe

McKenzie Warren

Hallie Widner

Kennedy Yost

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